Written questions by Carmichael.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's White Paper entitled A New Vision for Water, published on 20 January 2026, if she will set out what (a) working groups were established to consult on that paper and (b) which organisations were included in each working group.

A wide range of stakeholders were consulted on reforms through the Independent Water Commission’s Call for Evidence, which received over 50,000 responses. Whilst there was not a formal working group for the White Paper, ahead of publication we engaged with stakeholders across the water system, including investors, water companies, consumer groups, regulators and environmental groups. We will continue to work constructively with interested parties on reforms and consult on specific measures as needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the total value of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will be allocated to England in the 2026-27 financial year.

The total investment announced in the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund was £360m over 12 years. The fund has been devolved with funding allocated using the Barnett formula. In the 2026-27 financial year, £22.6 million is allocated to England.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set out when her Department's timetable for when (a) the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will open for applications; and (b) details of the (i) eligibility, (ii) application process and (iii) assessment for that Fund will be published.

In its first year the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will be delivered in England through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme. We expect the scheme to open in April and will publish details on eligibility, application and assessment processes at the time of launch. Future updates to the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme will be published on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fisheries-and-seafood-scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, published on 19 February 2026, for what reason the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will not be launched as a standalone scheme in England until 2027; and for what reason payments will be made through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme in financial year 2026-27.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme is an established scheme that is popular with stakeholders in England –and will enable us to deliver funding as soon as possible. Using this scheme will maximise the level of support available to the fishing and seafood sector in the first year of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the (a) full results and (b) evaluation reports from all Environment Land Management and Trials; and whether these will be made publicly available.

The Department is not yet able to provide a detailed estimate of when evaluation reports from all Environment Land Management (ELM) Tests and Trials will be published, as the programme is expected to continue throughout this Parliament. Findings from the Tests and Trials undertaken to date have been summarised in evidence reports published on GOV.UK (Dec-22, Jun-22, Dec-21, Jun-21, Sep-20, Jul-20) with further reports expected to be published later this year.